In recent times, invalid lifting and transporting cranes have become widely used in hospitals and nursing homes for the safe lifting and transporting of patients. Customarily, the crane or lifting apparatus includes a flexible fabric sling which is suspended from a hanger attached to the crane boom. Within this sling, the patient can be supported and transported in a semi-prone or sitting position, depending upon the placement of the patient in the sling. In certain circumstances, it is possible with the prior art apparatus for the invalid patient to fall out of the sling in a forward direction and this has resulted in injury.
The objective of the present invention is to improve upon the prior art in terms of safety and security of the patient by providing, on the patient supporting sling, a front generally vertical safety strap attachment which will eliminate the possibility of the patient falling forwardly while being transported and will generally make the sling more secure. A further advantage of the invention is that, in the event that the forward sling support hooks or one such hook should become disconnected from the sling, the patient will not slide or fall completely out of the sling but will be safely suspended by means of the front strap attachment until corrective measures can be taken. The strap attachment has a separate buckle to facilitate placing the patient in the sling and removing him or her therefrom.
Some examples of the patented prior art pertaining to invalid lifting and transporting apparatus are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,663,031; 2,680,855; 2,903,238 and 3,469,269.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.